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Battle of Kalavasos
The Battle of Kalavasos was a battle fought between the armies of the Republic of Genoa and the Kingdom of Cyprus on 25 September 1373. In late 1373, Genoese army of 1,161 troops under Frolio Rapallese landed on the island of Cyprus to assist in its conquest for Genoa during the chaos following Peter I of Cyprus' death and Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Cyprus' invitation of the Genoese to invade the island. However, King Peter II of Cyprus' uncle John of Lusignan defeated the Genoese in battle on the coast of southern Cyprus. Background King Peter I of Cyprus was a bold ruler of the Kingdom of Cyprus, the last remaining crusader state and a bastion of resistance against the Ottoman Empire of Asia Minor and the Burji Sultanate of the Levant. Peter was a crusader, a traveler, and an adulterer, and his absence from his wife Queen Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Cyprus led to Eleanor being unfaithful to him. In late 1368, he tried his wife for adultery and became a tyrant, angry at her betrayal. In January 1369, his nobles arranged for his own bodyguards to assassinate him at his palace to overthrow the tyrant. Eleanor, although angry at her late husband for his infidelity, sought vengeance against his killers and invited the Republic of Genoa to invade Cyprus to catch and slay the assassins. The Genoese army invaded the island in April 1373, and they succeeded in capturing the killers and putting them to death. However, the Genoese were intent on seizing power for themselves, leading to war with the Cypriots, led by Peter's uncles John of Lusignan and the future James I of Cyprus. Battle In September 1373, 1,161 Genoese troops under Frolio Rapallese landed in southern Cyprus to reinforce the main Genoese army during its sieges of the Cypriot ports, and it had barely marched inland when the army of John of Lusignan - some 1,011 troops - marched forth into battle. The two sides met at Kalavassos on the southern coast of Cyprus, with the Genoese having the water to their backs. The Genoese army marched forwards and attacked the Cypriots, who awaited the Genoese attack. Cypriot crossbowmen showered the Italian invaders with bolts, and the Genoese were picked off as they marched into battle. However, the Genoese infantry came up and charged the Cypriots, entering bloody melee with them. The Cypriot cavalry joined the bloody fray, and a force of cavalry on the Cypriot right flank charged the vulnerable Genoese crossbowmen behind the main battle line. They massacred the Genoese, and the main Genoese army was overwhelmed by the tougher Cypriot warriors. As the Genoese front line crumbled, the Genoese cavalry moved to assault some Genoese feudal knights that were attacking withdrawing crossbowmen on the Cypriot right flank. Rapallese charged into this fight, and he was captured while retreating as his men were massacred. The Genoese army disintegrated, and the Cypriots won a great - albeit temporary - victory. Category:Battles